Braves, Giants, and Red Sox Acquire Players, Mets Do Not

This is the second go-around in Atlanta for Farnsworth, who was quietly having a spectacular season in Kansas City. He sports a sparkling 2.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 36 Ks/12 BB in 45 IP. He hasn’t been in the NL since 2005, so in addition to his rediscovered skillset, he may also have the benefit of mystery.

Also coming from the Royals is outfielder Rick Ankiel, whose season has been marred by a leg injury and sporadic playing time. He will be a welcome addition to centerfield for the Braves, who lost patience with a struggling Nate McLouth and now have Melky Cabrera manning the position. It does, however make them a little lefty-heavy and vulnerable to effective LOOGYs (such as the one acquired by the Marlins a few hours ago). The Braves sent Gregor Blanco, Jesse Chavez, and Tim Collins to the Royals.

To further add to their outfield depth, the Braves also acquired Wilkin Ramirez from Detroit for a player to be named later and cash. I don’t know if he will be added to the 25-man roster or assigned to their AAA club. He was hitting .216 in AAA prior to the deal, but was a highly touted prospect before 2010.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.

So which player available (after Lee) would you give up Josh Thole for? Ike Davis?

There were no trade fits. It would have been idiotic to make a trade that wasn’t going to improve the team (other than a salary dump for Perez).

This is real baseball, not fantasy. The Mets could not get anyone of any value without giving up someone that would have weakened the team in the long run. Would you rather they make bad trades just for the sake of making trades?

You’re right, I don’t know what I was thinking. The Mets are awesome, and have no need to improve their organization at any level. Further, they have absolutely no one that is both expendable and valuable to another team. What an ironic quandary!